Barcelona Confirm Interest In 19-Year-Old Liverpool Target

Spanish La Liga champions Barcelona have confirmed their interest in highly rated Ajax Amsterdam defender Matthijs De Ligt.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed the club’s interest in the Ajax Amsterdam skipper in a chat with radio station SER Catalunya.

Matthijs De Ligt became the youngest captain in the history of Dutch Eredivisie giants Ajax Amsterdam after he was named the club’s skipper last year at the age of 18.

His impressive performances for Ajax have not gone unnoticed with the best teams on the European continent including Liverpool.

The Reds have been strongly linked with a move for him and defender Virgil Van Dijk has already talked up the possibility of the young Dutch defender joining Liverpool in the future.

• Barcelona Edges Liverpool In Bid To Sign £60m-rated Centre Back

Matthijs De Ligt and Virgil Van Dijk have formed a potent centre back partnership for the Dutch national senior team.

The 19-year-old helped the Netherlands qualify for the semifinals of the UEFA Nations League alongside Virgil Van Dijk.

Netherlands will face England for a spot in the UEFA Nations League final with both countries scheduled to meet this summer.

De Ligt’s stock rose further on Tuesday night when he led Ajax Amsterdam to one of the most surprising results in the Champions League in recent times.

Ajax stunned Real Madrid via a 4-1 win to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit.

The Dutch giants are through to the quarters via a 5-3 aggregate win over the holders.